On Tuesday night, a rumor started circling Facebook that Cinderella was off the M3 lineup and L.A. Guns was in. Well, now all of that is official. Yesterday, the M3 promoters sent out this message to ticket holders:

There have been some changes to this year’s M3 line-up and we want to fill you in. Unfortunately, we just learned that Cinderella is unable to perform as their lead guitarist, Jeff LaBar, is currently receiving attention for an unspecified medical condition and the band will be off the road through mid June. We wish Jeff well.

We are glad to report, however, that we’ve added LA Guns and Great White to the bill – and there’s another exciting addition. There will be an unforgettable M3 All-Star Jam with many artists from this year’s festival joining onstage showcasing their talents in this one-time only epic event.

We look forward to seeing you May 11 and 12th!

So there you have it: Cinderella out, L.A. Guns and Great White, in. In case there's any confusion the L.A. Guns is Phil Lewis' version and the Great White version is the one with Terry Ilous on vocals. What are your thoughts on this change? Personally, I don't think there's a real headliner anymore, but maybe I'm way off base.

Reader Comments (26)

You are 110% Correct!

No Cinderella = No Headliner

Plus...

While that's great they added Phil Lewis and His L.A. Guns, that band, which is missing a couple of original members including the glaringly absent Tracii Guns, ain't no match for the all original line-up of Cinderella.

And do the promoters really think we're all so ADD so as to not notice that Great White has been on the bill since the git-go?!

What really stinks about this is the M3 Promoters once again reveal their true colors, not just conning us into thinking they added two new "legit" acts to replace the one headliner ("such a deal!" -- Ha!), but looking at the situation as nothing more than an opportunity to make a profit by signing one "B-List" legacy act to replace an "A-List" legacy act instead of knocking themselves out to get an even better replacement.

Like how about The Darkness or somebody who's hot right now? Or, if it's gotta be a legacy act, get somebody on par or better than Cinderella.

What a sham.

p.s. Though I don't wish LeBar anything less than a speedy recovery, as killer as Cinderella performed on The Monsters of Rock Cruise, Jeff oughtta think twice his karma count when it comes to how he views fans. Regardless of the fact Cinderella put on two awesome shows and despite having had a couple of genuinely great conversations with LeBar the night before the cruise set sail at the Kix Pre-Party, he acted like a dick during the first show. While facing away from the audience, LeBar stared straight up at the ceiling and "sprayed water" (read "spit") all over on the first few people right up front, toward the center, including moi! Now this might have looked cool on an old MTV video in backlit slo-mo, but believe me, it wasn't cool gettin' it in your hair or on your vintage Quiana polyester shirt with the wide collar. Even though it only cost me 16 bucks, I had to suppress all of my Metalboy! powers to let him skate on that one (well, that night, anyway (more on this soon). All joking and my little qualms with him aside, for his sake, for the band's sake -- one if the few original line-ups left, mind you -- I do wish him all the best. Not to add fuel to the rumor mill, but I heard through a credible source, Jeff likes a to have a few, as they say, and if that's the problem, let's hope he get's help and gets back on the road pronto. Jeff, we need ya!

Oh, and I'll still be going to M3 regardless of the cash grab by the promoters. Ratt, Stryper, Loudness, Dokken and Lynch Mob are cool enough for me. And I'm so relieved there's no Tesla on this bill. What a frickin' BOREFEST!!!

p.s. Don't worry all you horseblindered Tesla fans, you'll have your revenge when you picture me anguishing through their set opening for Scorps at Merriweather, as that's what I'll have to suffer through in order to get point blank in front of Schenker afterward.

Have to agree with Metalboy! on several points. L.A. Guns and Great White (either version of either band, even though I like at least one of each!) do not make up for losing Cinderella.

That said, Ratt--when they are on--still can bring it. Rudy and Robbie are great additions. And Geoff still has great range even if the band is little more than a shell.

Speaking of tipping back some, best hope that Oni is feeling "okay" during the LM set. Lynch did himself no favors, and draws comparisons to Dokken, in how he handled bring Oni back into the fold.

I was considering this concert. But it is way below the bar that Rock n' America set a couple of years back. Then again, they lost their shirts on that one and will be lucky to bring it back this year after the year off.

Yes...I am not too happy about this change. Cinderella was one of the best on the lineup..I have no desire to see Great White without the lead singer that they just dumped. I skipped them last yr and will do it again.

We can't blame M3 for the fact that they had to find a replacement band for Cinderella. It is too bad Cinderella had to cancel, but I don't ever remember M3 as being billed as a Cinderella concert in the first place. We don't even know that Cinderella was considered the "headliner" in the first place. Set times and stage location were never announced. In fact, some of the bands don't even know set times and which stage they are on.

Once all is said and done, I don't think it will be that big of a deal that Cinderella wasn't there.

** On another note, I'll start selling tickets for the "M-Pre" Party on May 10th with WILDSTREET, SIN 4 SIN, and STREETLIGHT CIRCUS next week. Anyone that wants a ticket for "BBG" can get tickets prior to that by sending me an email me at dtoxinproduction@aol.com between now and when they officially go on sale. When you email, I'll fill you in with all the info.

Money grab...replacing Cinderella with those two bands probably saved the promoters at least $25,000. Ticket sales have to be week this year and it is sad this festival is now going the way of ROK! NOT HAPPY AT ALL ABOUT THE LINEUP OR MONEY GRAB!

How is this a money grab? The show is less than 2 months away and any band worth their weight is already booked through the Fall. When we first started discussing who would play, I thought The Darkness would have been great since they have a new CD coming out. Last I heard they were already booked on their own tour. Sadly. I think new bands like Bad City or Reckless Love should have been a priority for the festival. Like Mike says, you are going to run out of "quality" acts if you do not help the new wave. Lastly I think RATT is a fine headliner. Saw them a year or so ago and they were terrific. MB mentioned Tesla, why aren't they here?

Huh-uh-lo-oh!!!, Rock-It!!!, Cinderella was THE Headliner! Just look at the old poster. Two years ago, Cinderella was last up before Scorps. No one on the bill this year rivals The Scorps or even come close to the level of Cinderella, though Ratt (minus a couple original players) comes close to the classic Mark II line-up of Cinderella in delivering the goods.

As Mike points out, Ratt has re-proven how great they are with "Infestation" and even better, are workin' on yet another album due out soon! A big part of that is ex-Quiet Riotter, Carlos Cavazo, more than adequately filling Robbin Crosby's boots, including some songwriting duties. Hopefully they will play a new one, too.

But, in the end, you're in denial if you don't think the promoters took advantage of Cinderella's cancellation. That is B. frickin' S. they couldn't find a worthy replacement.

I AM with Scott on this, though -- believe it or not, they shoulda put Reckless Love and Bad City in on the main stage before Queensryche. That would make it for me. Hey, it's still not too late!

p.s. Reckless Love, Crash Diet, Hardcore Superstar, Vains of Jenna Mad Margritt, Miss Crazy, Hansel, et al, could bring it all back if they just all moved to L.A. and played the strip every night. BBG!!!

That's proof right here how much the M3 promoters care about the ticket buyers. They didn't try at all! No vision! Just $$$! In case you all didn't notice, there's a way to get both at the same time. Con Artists! Scammers! Jerks!

They could split it 60/40 with Don getting the motherlode. Just kidding. Of course, this is how Don would want it. But after I saw George point blank on The Monsters of Rock Cruise, he deserves at least half. What a Genius! Or, living up to the bill, what a Monster! Is 25K even enough to cover them gettin' back together for a one-off reunion to take place at M3?

I was looking forward to seeing Cinderella. No interest in Queensryche, and agree they should bring in some new blood here and there. Yes, and the Terry led Great White is a joke (and was listed initially but not specific to which version til now), and LA Guns is good any day all day. I'd like to see Jackyl chainsaw Queensryche out of their slot. Bottom line, need some other bigger name added in here to make up for losing Cinderella.

If the organizers of M3 would of replaced Cinderella with all 5 bands on the 'America Rocks' tour, ya know, Jack Russell, Faster Pussycat, Bulletboys, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Lillian Axe" I would of gone. The lineup this year is bland, and there is absolutely zero wow factor. Glad I'm staying in Ohio.